Levrone talks about “pumping” vs heavy

[Elvia1023]

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives/prevails, nor the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change," I think we can invoke some darwin here although I will say this - the person who studies and implements ammo from every technique and angle, taken as a grain of salt, will fashion a new edge of skill sets for their athletic sword then they will have the advantage, rather than the one who is cookie-cutter exclusive to one or two techniques. Have you heard Nasser talk? He wasn't just big he was bright as fuck. More ammo for your arsenal. also everyone responds differently to different exercises and stimulus to be more general, with that said, the only way to determine is to push every stimulus and see which your body responds to best.

Great post. Although for bodybuilding things can be very simple. Plus I love the details and to get scientific but I think Ronnie Coleman is a prime example of how simple bodybuilding can be. Granted he was a genetic elite but the same can apply for most. His diet was basic, his training was basic/heavy and I am sure his drugs were very basic until he started morphing later on. He literally done incline, flat and decline presses with some flies for chest his whole career from what I have heard.

You walk into gyms now and all the stringer boys have their intra concoction with 9 ingredients at certain ratios (I love intra drinks), sat sidewards on the chest press pressing 1 pps, inputting their numbers into their workout app on their mobile after doing 28 sets of chest and they injected their igf-1 des exactly 14 mins into their workout because they heard that is optimal. They get home and take their 20mg test with 50mg tren and they miss their last meal and they wonder why they aren't growing.

Granted when you don't have the genetics you really do have to optimize all areas and often think outside of the box which involves a lot of experimentation but at the end of the day the basics of bodybuilding is what get you 90% of the way there and it will always be that way.

 

[alfresco]

Check out a recent JRE w Matthew Mcconaughey. One of the best actors of our era and a fantastic 'feel good' interview in strange and scary times. Found it to be a fantastic listen.

Yes, I agree.

And at the risk of taking this thread sideways too far sideways, I would like to take
a moment to say if you want to listen to a really good conversation with Matthew
Mcconaughey, check out his talk with Marc Maron of WTF fame. I have listened to
much of what Matthew has to say (even the children's stories he has read) and I
found this particular one the most enlightening, funny, entertaining and inspirational.
In my opinion, it is unlike any of the others I have listened to now that he is on his
book 'tour'. Would love to get your opinion on this.

Episode 1168 - Matthew McConaughey — WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

These are appropriate times for reflection and Matthew McConaughey just went through the process of reflecting on his whole life while writing his memoir, Greenlights. Marc talks with Matthew about the revelations he encountered, the perspective he gained, and the philosophies he was able to codify

www.wtfpod.com

 

[Muay Thai]

Great post. Although for bodybuilding things can be very simple. Plus I love the details and to get scientific but I think Ronnie Coleman is a prime example of how simple bodybuilding can be. Granted he was a genetic elite but the same can apply for most. His diet was basic, his training was basic/heavy and I am sure his drugs were very basic until he started morphing later on. He literally done incline, flat and decline presses with some flies for chest his whole career from what I have heard.

You walk into gyms now and all the stringer boys have their intra concoction with 9 ingredients at certain ratios (I love intra drinks), sat sidewards on the chest press pressing 1 pps, inputting their numbers into their workout app on their mobile after doing 28 sets of chest and they injected their igf-1 des exactly 14 mins into their workout because they heard that is optimal. They get home and take their 20mg test with 50mg tren and they miss their last meal and they wonder why they aren't growing.

Granted when you don't have the genetics you really do have to optimize all areas and often think outside of the box which involves a lot of experimentation but at the end of the day the basics of bodybuilding is what get you 90% of the way there and it will always be that way.

those mfers are a diff story lol, there is a grip of them at my gym, GATORADE is idiot-proof for an intra drink. I drink MCT oil pre and take arginine and agmatine to "volumize". Workout apps are ridiculous but I'm all for whatever keeps genuine people happy and healthy as long as it does not interfere with my space. I thought about mentioning Ronnie but he is the genetic elite there is no pro who has ever denied that about him, coupled with the massive weight he was living and crazy training sessions. I don't think many of these new cats train like him. Here's a female example, I went to show my client the bikini Olympia winner for a physique she might be interested in attaining, and I was not impressed the chick was skinny there are better-looking girls in the gym with thicker actual muscle, and then I said ok let's look at her training highlight videos, it looked staged it was embarrassing there was no passion or intensity, I'm not expecting a tom platz performance lol, Jennifer Dorie I think her name. I have been locked up with plenty of fools who had enhanced genetics and would literally look at water bags and grow (our version of weights) corn bred fed white and black dudes mostly, some Mexicans. the whites were the biggest build wise. the blacks were the most ripped always.

I say even if you HAVE the genetics, more ammo for your arsenal gives you an ADVANTAGE.

You see, Genetics load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger. biohack yourself. reprogram your human biocomputer like dr john lilly wrote

 

[Muay Thai]

Yes, I agree.

And at the risk of taking this thread sideways too far sideways, I would like to take
a moment to say if you want to listen to a really good conversation with Matthew
Mcconaughey, check out his talk with Marc Maron of WTF fame. I have listened to
much of what Matthew has to say (even the children's stories he has read) and I
found this particular one the most enlightening, funny, entertaining and inspirational.
In my opinion, it is unlike any of the others I have listened to now that he is on his
book 'tour'. Would love to get your opinion on this.

Episode 1168 - Matthew McConaughey — WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

These are appropriate times for reflection and Matthew McConaughey just went through the process of reflecting on his whole life while writing his memoir, Greenlights. Marc talks with Matthew about the revelations he encountered, the perspective he gained, and the philosophies he was able to codify

www.wtfpod.com

If you want to listen to an incredible Mcconaughey, listen to his interview by Dr. Jordan Peterson that was released on youtube today. Jordan Peterson is brilliant himself

 

[Biggerp73]

What’s your opinion on this.
My thinking has always been the same as Levrone. If a guy can lift heavier and more reps I’d bet he is the better of the two.
Or is it a now days Morse insulin ,carbs, muscle pumps and reps.

watching this years Olympia winner I’m thinking it’s still the guy moving big weight that wins.

Link is dead

I don't know if I've gotten much of any pump for years

I mean, I get a little bit

But it's just not something I look for or pay attention to much at all

 

[Nyoco]

Yes, I agree.

And at the risk of taking this thread sideways too far sideways, I would like to take
a moment to say if you want to listen to a really good conversation with Matthew
Mcconaughey, check out his talk with Marc Maron of WTF fame. I have listened to
much of what Matthew has to say (even the children's stories he has read) and I
found this particular one the most enlightening, funny, entertaining and inspirational.
In my opinion, it is unlike any of the others I have listened to now that he is on his
book 'tour'. Would love to get your opinion on this.

Episode 1168 - Matthew McConaughey — WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

These are appropriate times for reflection and Matthew McConaughey just went through the process of reflecting on his whole life while writing his memoir, Greenlights. Marc talks with Matthew about the revelations he encountered, the perspective he gained, and the philosophies he was able to codify

www.wtfpod.com

Your description is spot on Alfresco thanks for posting that, for those on the fence thinking it´s too long just bookmark the page and listen in segments, it´s worth it.

 

[Nyoco]

If you want to listen to an incredible Mcconaughey, listen to his interview by Dr. Jordan Peterson that was released on youtube today. Jordan Peterson is brilliant himself

That was really good too. I´m really glad Jordan is back on his feet again after his health issues.

 

[rAJJIN]

I think the only guys that would not squat 800 lbs are the ones the can’t physically do it.
Not sure any drop set, pause set, or whatever way you want to do it equals the same thing.

 

[rAJJIN]

It would be like saying I can bench press 500lb.... but I prefer to do 250lb three times and stretch and pause

 

[Goody]

Lifting “heavy ass weight” is all fine and dandy and clearly effective but let’s not forget king Ronnie is basically crippled now cause of it.... what the young man does, the old man pays for....
I’ll take pumping all day so that when I’m 70 I can still pump all day

 

[N.L....M.....]

Lifting “heavy ass weight” is all fine and dandy and clearly effective but let’s not forget king Ronnie is basically crippled now cause of it.... what the young man does, the old man pays for....
I’ll take pumping all day so that when I’m 70 I can still pump all day

Kind Ronnie also had a back injury since high school I believe. You can lift heavy ass weights intensely, heavy is relative, but you can do it safely with very good form and take time off when necessary making sure you’re recovered and not work through injuries

 

[Goody]

^^^and the hips, and the shoulders and the.... u get the point
Play with fire long enough, u get burned, doesn’t matter how many “precautions” u take
Human body can only take so much for so long

 

[Elvia1023]

It would be like saying I can bench press 500lb.... but I prefer to do 250lb three times and stretch and pause

Of course everyone wants to be lifting as heavy as possible. The more weight you can handle with great form the better. I just mean many guys get lost in the adding weight to the bar mentality (ego) and they have very little control over the weight and it's usually not working the target muscle effectively. I don't want people to misunderstand me because sometimes it's fine to move up in weight and struggle (as long as your form isn't too bad) to get used to that new weight then you can work on improving execution with that new heavy weight over time.

I love a bit of Branch Warren and I have trained like that myself because it's fun going crazy in the gym so there is place for all styles as long as you know what you're doing. A newbie adding a lot of weight and just going crazy not thinking about form and moving it from a to b is probably on the road to a serious injury. My point is I just see many guys lifting too heavy. A good example are the guys who shrug or squat huge weight and barely move the bar. I think execution should always come before weight and once that execution is sorted you try to get as fucking strong as possible. Now the opposite to what I am stating are the guys who lift too light and are too precise and everything has to be perfect and that is just as ineffective as lifting too heavy with shit form.

For me if you can safely bench 500lb with good form for 6+ reps then you should be doing that. Well flat bench press is an exception for me but you get the point. I would go with incline or decline but basically lifting as heavy as you can for every movement in a sensible rep range (6-20). Although I also see the benefit in adding in a set of higher reps and less weight or paused reps occasionally as well. Everyone is different but safe rep ranges imo tend to increase as people get older. There are many exceptions but if a guy is pushing 60 I wouldn't like to see him maxing out bench with 6 reps and it would be more like 15 or so. But people should do what they want and what they feel comfortable with but regardless of age you have to be sensible with training volume/frequency when it comes to the super heavy presses (or any movement) for low reps.

 

[Elvia1023]

Kind Ronnie also had a back injury since high school I believe. You can lift heavy ass weights intensely, heavy is relative, but you can do it safely with very good form and take time off when necessary making sure you’re recovered and not work through injuries

That is exactly it. He may have had a bad back or bad hips etc but that would just be in. He may have had some surgeries like most but again that would be it. Ronnie has put himself into a wheelchair because of well you know what I mean. He had major hip surgery and was back in the gym leg curling with erratic form 1 week later. He has done it every time. He did have one bad surgery but all the others he just fucked up himself by not allowing his body to recover and overdoing things. I love the passion and I love the fight and I and many others train through injuries all the time. But major back and hip surgeries are very different and you don't go back in the gym a few days later against doctors orders and train with erratic form. It's sad to see and again I love the attitude and passion but if that passion was paired with some common sense he definitely wouldn't be in the position he is in today.

Many could argue he wouldn't have won the Olympia without that drive and work ethic and that is very true and it's what separated himself from the likes of Flex Wheeler. Ronnie was a machine and done everything day in day out even having a full time job at the beginning of his career. But that is a different subject and once you have retired you can take the foot of the gas (still train a lot) but he never could. I love training just as much as anyone and always train and will likely mess myself up sometime in the future because of it but what he done is just a whole different level and it's sad to see him drugged up in a wheelchair throughout the year. Many say would you do it for being Mr O but I am not on about his bodybuilding career. Yes all that lifting early on fucked him up later on but it's what he done after he retired that has put him in a wheelchair.

 

[w8tlifterty]

Lifting “heavy ass weight” is all fine and dandy and clearly effective but let’s not forget king Ronnie is basically crippled now cause of it.... what the young man does, the old man pays for....
I’ll take pumping all day so that when I’m 70 I can still pump all day

At 38, I feel 65. My 7 year old daughter laughs at me getting out of bed. I never did it for show but I only enjoyed lifting heavy or pushing myself that way. Hit some big numbers and boy was it fun but as you say, it's taken a toll. 'Pumping' is so fucking boring... The transition is hard... I know, I know reps are challenging and the 'burn' but there ain't nothing like the feeling of pushing big wgt for reps. It's hard for me to find the same joy in lifting knowing I can't do what I once did. Mentally, it's challenging to find that same gear. I generally train DC w some pretty knarly rest-pause upper rep ranges but it still isn't the same.

My body seemingly has regressed partly because of nerve issues and injuries but also bc higher rep work has never elicited the same results as big weight (hypertrophy studies be damned when it comes to my own personal genetics).

 

[goback2013]

I felt the same way in my late 30s. I've since lost 50to60lbs and feel much better. Closer to 50 now
Went to.play basketball at the local LA Fitness and I can still dunk. I've been running consistently 6 to 8 miles a day. Sometimes more.
Maybe you should look into losing weight if you're feeling heavy.

 

[Goody]

At 38, I feel 65. My 7 year old daughter laughs at me getting out of bed. I never did it for show but I only enjoyed lifting heavy or pushing myself that way. Hit some big numbers and boy was it fun but as you say, it's taken a toll. 'Pumping' is so fucking boring... The transition is hard... I know, I know reps are challenging and the 'burn' but there ain't nothing like the feeling of pushing big wgt for reps. It's hard for me to find the same joy in lifting knowing I can't do what I once did. Mentally, it's challenging to find that same gear. I generally train DC w some pretty knarly rest-pause upper rep ranges but it still isn't the same.

My body seemingly has regressed partly because of nerve issues and injuries but also bc higher rep work has never elicited the same results as big weight (hypertrophy studies be damned when it comes to my own personal genetics).

I feel u man, I’m 42. Spent my twenties and half my thirties chasing the numbers, moving gorilla weight, I get it, I loved it too. But I wish I had backed off it much sooner looking back. I have to dance around injuries all the time, but in doing so, I have discovered some fantastic exercises that I otherwise probaly woulda never tried. Thinking outside the box kinda stuff..
I don’t wannabe the old guy hobbling around talking about the good old days looking like a shell of my former self. So for me, the volume, the squeeze and that mind muscle connection is where it’s at and god willing, will allow me to keep doing what I love well into my senior years

 

[madg]

Agree with goody

Also what i do is decrease rest times instead increase weight

Say 100 kg bench start with 1,5 min rest and work down to 20-30 sec

This and long TUT always give me great results

 

[rAJJIN]

If you lift light weights or “easier” weights....
Eventually isn’t that your body is use to? No matter how much you squeeze, pump or flex during.

maybe you can maintain like that? Or not loose it all. But I do t think that will put at a guy at his best look or strength.

 

[KillerStack]

If a guy can lift heavier and more reps I’d bet he is the better of the two.

Lots of pros have talked about lifting "heavy but for high reps". Like what is that supposed to mean lol. If you do many reps it isn't heavy, at least not to me.

Then you have the common idea that "heavy" means sloppy execution. Lots of different definitions for the word heavy lol.